Melbourne, Oct 16 (IANS): England allrounder Chris Waokes is happy he is finally in Jos Buttler's squad for the ICC T20 World Cup and able to contribute after months of missing the action due to injuries, saying as one gets older "you don't want to miss any cricket".
Woakes grabbed three wickets in the third and final T20I against Australia at the Manuka Oval in Canberra on October 14, dismissing skipper Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh but his efforts went in vain as the match was abandoned due to rain.
The 33-year-old would have put himself in prime position to be selected in the Playing XI in the upcoming T20 World Cup, and Woakes says he doesn't want to miss any more opportunities of playing for the country.
"When you get past 30, you don't want to miss any cricket," Woakes, who has endured an injury-riddled past few months, was quoted as saying by Daily Mail. In England's busy schedule last winter, the allrounder was restricted to just one appearance -- in Warwickshire's second XI -- over the English summer and underwent an operation on his left knee in late July, said the report.
He said it was tough for him to watch England's Test and limited-overs fixtures on television, but encouraging performances on his comeback -- first in the seven-match T20I series in Pakistan and now in Australia during the three-match T20I series -- has given him confidence.
"Earlier in your career you have breaks and you quite enjoy them, whereas this time round (when you are 30-plus) it felt like I was missing opportunities to be playing for England. It has been a tough six months, both physically with my knee and then mentally as well," said Woakes.
"I watch a lot of cricket, it's not always best for you when you're not going to be around the team. It's just satisfying to be back amongst the squad and back playing for England. I'm just thoroughly enjoying it."
England, following their 2-0 T20I series win against Australia will play a T20 World Cup warm-up game against Pakistan at the Gabba on Monday. They will then travel to Perth for their first World Cup fixture against Afghanistan, with Woakes hoping his new-ball skills in the abandoned T20I against Australia could push him ahead of his rivals for a spot.
"When I have batted I've shown what I can do, so that might be something that gives me the nod," he said. "It's something I've always had in my locker, batting down the order. The batting line-up is pretty much set, bowling we could go a number of different ways. Hopefully I've done enough. Taking three wickets won't have hurt," he added.